1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for wireless communication between electronic devices, and, more particularly, to antennas used with such wireless communication systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless ethernet, (or Wi-Fi, or IEEE 802.11), is becoming a mainstream technology. The integration of an antenna/radio solution within a notebook PC involves the ability to build a wireless radio directly on the main board or on a mini-PCI card, both of which are considered “integrated” within the case of the notebook personal computer (PC). Currently, many notebook PCs integrate IEEE 802.11 technology via a mini-PCI card which contains the wireless radio and Media Access Controller (MAC) electronics. The mini-PCI card is a portable, small card that is integrated or plugged directly onto the motherboard via a PCI interface socket located in the notebook PC. An upgrade using a mini-PCI card is not as easily performed as those wireless systems located on a PCMCIA card, but the risk of damage and loss of components are greatly reduced with the internal mini-PCI card system.
A mini-PCI card includes two connectors on the card (i.e., Hirose U.FL) which are available to connect two pre-installed cabled antennas to the card. The antennas are not internally integrated into these mini-PCI radios. Even though these commodity radio units are certified for various world geographies, re-certification is necessary when external antennas are attached.
If a printer or other electronic device makes use of the cost/performance/reliability of these commodity mini-PCI radios to enable wireless connectivity, each product requires recertification of the radio section for each product, even if the radio/antenna system is identical to the previously certified system. Again, this is due to the variation of external antenna geometry which is considered a new configuration.
What is needed in the art is an antenna for use with a mini-PCI radio card which is quickly and easily attached to the mini-PCI radio card, provides good performance, and does not require re-certification when used in different electronic devices.